At the Friends of the Waterworks meeting this week Terry Goldsmith of the North Down Ringing Group which promotes the well-being of geese and the swans in the Waterworks Park called on Belfast City Council to launch an immediate probe into falling swan numbers.
The Waterworks normally has around 120 to 150 swans in its waters but in recent days that number has dropped to around 30 he claimed.
An wildlife investigation is needed into both the Waterworks and Victoria Park in East Belfast.
Traditionally the lower pond represents a haven for non-breeding swans, who flock to the water to escape the wrath of the alpha male, who mates up in the top pond. He's killed three rival swans already this year the meeting was told.
Terry explained that despite this breeding trend, numbers were drastically down. Ricky Rice and Helen Hurrell of Belfast's park committee were both at that meeting.
It will be interesting to see if they do anything about this possibly worrying development.
No comments:
Post a Comment